Aeroplane attachment for extinguishing fires



A. ARCIERI April 16, 1935.

AEROPLANE ATTACHMENT FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES Filed Feb. 25, 1954 Patented Apr. 16, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AEROPLANE ATTACHMENT FOB, EXTIN- GUISHING FIRES Antonio Arcieri, West Hollywood, com. Application February 23, 1934, Serial No. 712,629 3 Claims. (01. 244-1) The present invention relates to apparatus for inaccessible to motor trucks or other land vedistributing a fire preventing and extinguishing hicles. composition and more particularly to an attach- Further, the equipped planes may be utilized ment for aeroplanes by means of which a fluid for transporting water or the like to troopsor 5 composition such as water or suitable fire exexpeditions that may have been stoppedindeserts 5 tinguishing chemical may be transported by for the lack of water, gasoline or the like. aeroplane to the scene of the fire and released The liquid containing tank which is located from the moving aeroplane for the purposes dewholly within and forms a part of the frame scribed. structin'e of the aeroplane fuselage, may be filled l0 Broadly this invention comprises a storage tank with gasoline to provide a reserve supply in the and spraying means carried by the aeroplane, the event of an extended flight and with the tank apparatus being situated in such a manner as to emptied or partially emptied of its contents will affect but slightly, if at all, the gravity and balance render the plane buoyant in the event that the of the machine under flying conditions. It, is operator of the plane is forced to make a landing desirable that the tank be built into the maat sea. 15 chine in such a manner as to form a part of the To the attainment of the foregoing and other fuselage thereof, whereupon it will not be disobjects which will appear as the description protinguishable from the exterior of the machine. ceeds, reference may be made to the accompany- The spraying means and suitable control valves ing sheet of drawings, in which:

are provided externally of the tank and fuselage, Fig. l is a perspective view of an aeroplane "D such valves being controlled by means located ,mounting the apparatus of the invention; within easy reach of the pilot of the ship. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing structural This apparatus and means of fire fighting is details of the app a d especially advantageous in fighting forest, grass Fig. 3 is an elevation, partly in section, ,of the 1.5 or'grain fires, and has many decided advantank and e p ay valve.

'tages over the ordinary apparatus usually em- Referring more particularly to th w n in ployed in such emergencies, such as providing the which like reference numerals designate like fire fighters with an elevated point of observation, parts, it will be observed that 10 indicates an speedy means for change of field of action and rdin ry r pla ompri ing win a facilities for rapidly covering large areas eifecfuselage II, the fuselage being q pp With the tively, conventional landing gear and provided with Among the objects of the invention is the prop e in its iel'wlifd P o r he motor and vision of means for showering or spraying the pilot's coc p and p eehti'ois- The aeroplane fire preventing and extinguishing medium upon may be of any C nv n yp 3 wooded, or other areas, eitheras a precaution A t ll generally -S Ded fi io against fires, or for their extinguishment should 15 P ov [the exact Shape Of the tank p they have started. ing upon the shape of the lower and rear portions The inventionisparticularly useful tcmembers 0f e fuselagea w be mounted 'of the Forestry Service who supervise a large Wholly inside and extends longitudinally f 40 territory and with any available body of water the the fuselage. ng held in Position y h id 43 Forestry Service will have at its command means mile which y Weli he 113111011 0f the fusefor transporting a considerable quantity of water iage framework. which m be added for the to a small or starting fire, and for directing the P p Supporting the tankdischarge of water, or for that matter any fire Inasmuch as the tank is located wh lly in i extinguishing compound found suitable, as an the fuselage, it does not in any way interfere with aid in extinguishing the fire. the stream lining of the fuselage and does not In addition to the fire extinguishing capabilipr vid resistance t a r durin fl ht of the ties of my invention, the aeroplane equipped with equipped plane. the tank and the latter filled with a liquid in- Further, the location of' the tank within the secticide, may be utilized for spraying growing fuselage and the shaping of the tank enables the 50 crops and orchards in order to destroy insects, tank structure to be readily combined .with and scale and the like, also the equipped aeroplane may form a part of the frame structure of the fuselage,

be used for transporting water, gasoline or oil to thereby materially increasing the strength and disabled ships or hydroplanes at sea or disabled stability of the latter.

aeroplanes that have been forcedtoland at points Running transversely of the fuselage in close proximity to the lower walls thereof, are series of strap members l8, extending from one rail ii to the other, and forming, with the rails, a cradle-like support for the tank II. The tank will, of course, be suitably secured in position. The tank ll may be of any convenient-size depending upon the nature and size of the flying machine to which it is attached, but will preferably be large enough to contain at least onehundred gallons of water or other flre extinguishing fluid. Thus a tank 4' by 5 and having a space between walls, throughout its configuration, of approximately one foot will hold approximately one hundred gallons of water, with a gross weight of approximately eight hundred pounds. By extending the length of the tank to 7 one hundred and fifty gallons, grossing twelve hundred pounds can be accommodated. This size may be varied in shape and capacity to accord with the size and style of the machine. The shape of the tank, in addition to its general U-configuration will, of course, be somewhat tapered towards the rear end thereof to conform to the tapering shape of a conventional fuselage.

Extending longitudinally of the tank and fuselage, and exteriorly of the tank, there will preferably be located an elongated strap-like member 20. This member performs several functions, such as forming a bottom support for the tank, and a reinforcing means for carrying the valves 22, and may well be built in as a part of the ship itself, although this is not essential.

Any number of valves 22 will be provided, these valves being tapped directly into the tank through the strap 20, and extending outwardly through the fuselage to mount respectively a series of spray nozzles 24.

Operating arms 26 will be provided for the respective valves, these arms being each connected to a single operating link 28 extending lengthwise of the ship. At the forward end of the link 2| is an actuating lever 30 which extends into proximity of the pilot's seat in the cockpit. This lever 30 will be fulcrumed at 32 and will serve as a ready means for opening and closing all the valves simultaneously.

Obviously the valves and valve operating mechanism may be arranged so that any one of the valves may be opened or closed independently of the'others.

Although each of the valves 22 is shown as terminating in a spray nozzle, it will be evident that should conditions warrant, the nozzles 24 may be dispensed with and thus a heavyfconflned stream of fluid projected from the valves.

Obviously the arrangement of valves is such that the nozzles will be sufficiently close to the under side of the ship as to clear the ground at all times, the landing gear projecting beyond the lowermost nozzle and valve.

Adjustment of the nozzlesmay be effected in any desirable manner, the. simplest method being merely to screw thread the nozzles into the body of the valve 22 and hold them in adjusted angular position by means of lock washers 34.

From the foregoing description the use and operation of the device may be readily apparent. Having discovered a fire, the aviator may fly to a vantage point thereover and by suitable manipulation of the control 30, spray the fire extinguishing fluid thereupon, the spray nozzles giving the effect of rain. In the case of a relatively concentrated fire, the spray nozzles may be removed and a concentrated stream of water or chemical projected thereon.

Obviously, any suitable filling medium such as the filler neck 36 may be provided.

If found more convenient, a series of small d'etachable tanks placed in end to end relation might be utilized in lieu of a single large tank, an advantage being in facile replacement, filling, etc.,

. but the preferred form of a single tank is suggested for simplicity and economy in manufacture and assemblage.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:-

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with a flying machine having a fuselage, of a tank conforming to the internal characteristics of said fuselage, and mounted wholly therein, said tank having outlets projecting exteriorb' of the fuselage, a cradle formed of longitudinally extending rail members and transversely extending strap members conforming to the external characteristics of the tank and having their ends connected to said rail members, said cradle being positioned between the walls of the tank and the fuselage and effective to support same in position.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with a flying machine having a fuselage, of a tank conforming to the internal characteristics of said fuselage, and mounted wholly therein, said tank having outlets projecting exterlorly of the fuselage, a cradle formed of longitudinally extending rail members and transversely extending strap members conforming to the external characteristics of the tank and having their ends connected to said rail members, said cradle being positioned between the walls of the tank and the fuselage and effective to support same in position, said exteriorly projecting portions comprising valves and control means therefor.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with a flying machine having a fuselage, of a cradle comprising rails extending along said fuselage on the interior thereof, and transversely extending straps shaped to conform to predetermined internal characteristics of the fuselage, said rails and straps being positioned in proximity to the walls of the fuselage, a tank mounted in said cradle and having walls shaped to conform to the interior of the fuselage, a longitudinally extending strap member at the bottom exteriorly thereof and providing a reinforcement for the tank, said tank having outlets projecting through said longitudinally extending member to a location exteriorly of the fuselage, said exteriorly projectingoutlets comprising valves, and control means for said valves extending in proximity to the flying machine controls.

ANTONIO ARCIERI. 

